


Clouded Message, Clear Finder

by Paint_It_Yellow



Series: Life Goes On (Post GX Canon) [8]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Web Forum, be wary if you hate fencing, i will though promise, it's just judai being a nice guy! talkin to some kids and helpin, more parks, specifically about fencing, too much farming knowledge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24361609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paint_It_Yellow/pseuds/Paint_It_Yellow
Summary: Those that Judai's helped on his travels from their point of view, sharing their experiences with others via a Duel Forum.
Relationships: Yubel & Original Character(s), Yubel/Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki, Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki & Original Character(s)
Series: Life Goes On (Post GX Canon) [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1200361
Comments: 7
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Sightings of The Spirit Speaker**

**> last post: today**

**Pinned Comment:** ****

**_CartonHome:_ **Has anyone else come across this guy? He can talk to Duel Spirits and stuff, it’s really neat, also kinda weird. Said he’s a traveller. He’s usually got a cat with him if it helps? Also clearly a teen or at least can’t be that far out of them so like… late teens early twenties i guess??

**_Anonymous:_ **spirits aren't real what are you five?

 **_Anonymous:_ ** a ‘traveller’ is just another word for being homeless what a waste of space

 **_Anonymous:_ **dude shut up 

**_Anonymous:_ **you’re a waste of space come back when you’re doing something useful with your life

 **_Anonymous:_ **i dunno, Carton, you sure you didn’t get scammed? 

**_Anonymous:_ **duel spirits are real one sucked my dick behind a family mart once

 **_CartonHome:_ **guys keep it chill in here, pg and all that. there are kids on this site. also i don’t want this post to be taken down. if you don’t have the answer to my question just leave

 **_Anonymous:_ **yeah it’s not like this is the first time someone’s talked about spirits on here. pretty sure duel monsters is haunted 

**_Anonymous:_ **i wouldn’t be surprised. even just the modern history of it’s wild. Like seto kaiba??? hello???? he’s done some wack shit in the name of some cards. heard he tried to kill a guy

 **_Anonymous:_ ** heard he _did_ kill a guy

 **_xBlaze1x:_ **i think i met this guy, Carton 

**_CartonHome:_ **dude your user…

 **_xBlaze1x:_ **This is my kid brother’s account! Not my fault he’s an edgy eight year old! Why do you even want to know about this guy anyway? 

**_CartonHome:_ **i dunno i just suddenly remembered him and was wondering if he was a fever dream or not lol 

**_xBlaze1x:_ **Yeah that makes sense, he’s a bit of a whirlwind

 **_CartonHome:_ **you got that right. i kinda wanted to thank him too, y’know? but he was just here one day then gone the next

x **_Blaze1x:_ **Same here, guess he doesn’t like staying in the same place for too long? I think he said something like that. Or implied it. It was a while ago. 

**_Anonymous:_ **you guys know you sound insane, right? 

**_CartonHome:_ **yeah but you get used to it 

**_xBlaze1x:_ **^^^

 **_xBlaze1x:_ **Wow that sounds really sad actually

 **_CartonHome:_ **wonder if that’s our fate

 **_xBlaze1x:_ **Stop you’ll make me depressed again

 **_Anonymous:_ **what the hell happened here??? I thought this was a joke post

 **_Anonymous:_ **Sometimes weirdos just pop up sometimes. What can you expect from a DM forum?

 **_Anonymous:_ **true guess i’ll blast then if nothing interesting’s going to happen here 

**_CartonHome:_ **good riddance to bad rubbish

 **_CartonHome:_ **so @xBlaze1x what’s your deal then?? 

**_xBlaze1x:_ **What do you mean? 

**_CartonHome:_ **with spirits, keep up dude! if you had a run in with our not-so-resident spirit speaker and you’re on a dm forum you must have some relationship with spirits

 **_xBlaze1x:_ **Oh. I’m not one to talk about it but… 

* * *

For all his life, he’d never really cared much for the so-called ‘great outdoors’. It was warm and made him feel all dizzy no matter how much water he drank or even if he stayed in the shade the entire time. Not to mention that when it wasn’t warm it was blisteringly cold which was incredibly annoying in the complete opposite of ways- though it did at least give him an excuse to not go outside. The outdoors was pretty in pictures and he was fine if it stayed that way. 

"You should go outside more often,” a deep voice spoke into his ear, causing him to almost fall onto his futon which he still hadn’t put away, though he was masterfully caught. 

“And why would I do that?” he challenged, getting back onto his own two feet before meeting the eyes of a tall man with a red mask covering his eyes and red wings faded to black at the tips- or as he would be commonly known as and referred to by most, Harpie’s Brother. 

“So you’re not breathing in the same acrid air?” 

“I open the windows, isn’t that enough?”

“You won’t get better by doing nothing.”

He shrugged. Maybe he didn’t want to get better. Maybe he would just never get better no matter what he tried and then he’d die as alone as he lived. 

“You’ve been here for all of three months and you’ve only ever left the house for school,” Harpie’s Brother reprimanded, “go and get some friends already.”

“You’re my friend, that’s enough.”

That seemed to earn him a somewhat amused snort. “Yes, well. Forceful introductions.” 

It had been somewhat forceful, he’d admit. All those years ago when his younger brother had handed him a Duel Monsters card he’d found, giving it to him as a ‘birthday present’, and then having Harpie’s Brother spontaneously (and rather unceremoniously) materialise into the world could be considered as such. It had taken ages to convince Ayato it hadn’t happened and perhaps even longer to convince himself that it, in fact, had. And that he could control it. 

“Yasuharu!” A call came, snapping him from his musings as he subsequently heard footsteps. 

“Quick, quick, dematerialise!” he said in a rushed voice, scrambling for the Duel Spirit’s card before grabbing onto it and watching as his friend vanished from sight just as the door behind him slid open. 

“Were you talking to yourself again?” his mother asked, concern edging its way into her voice at every angle. 

“I told you before, I was just calling a friend, it’s not like I’m crazy.”

Even with the excuse she didn’t seem to buy it, though she didn’t comment, instead just shaking her head with a sigh. 

“Could you go and take Ayato to the park?” 

Ah yes, the ploy to get him out of the house. 

“I have homework to do.”

“No you don’t, you finished it all yesterday. Unless you were lying to me.”

Now that was a route he definitely didn’t want to go down. Lying about finishing homework and getting caught would result in a contained explosion. Specifically, contained in his room and also a night of no dinner. 

“No, no, I wasn’t!” he said hurriedly, “I’ll take him.” 

“Great!” his mother said with a grin, “Ayato’s all ready; don’t keep him waiting!” 

As she made her way triumphantly out of the room, Yasuharu’s awkward smile fell limp and he defaulted to a groan, staring at the door after her. 

“Just because I can’t see you doesn’t mean I can’t see that smug grin. Knock it off.”

And that’s how, funnily enough, he found himself sitting on a bench, head in his hands as he wondered just how long he’d have to be outside before he could suitably turn back. It wasn’t even like it was a particularly cold day either so that made things somehow worse considering it left one excuse down and more screaming kids in the park than the one he had brought- don’t get him wrong, he loved Ayato to pieces, but he was also six and therefore had no volume control. 

Pulling his sleeves down a bit, he resigned himself after a pitifully short amount of time, shifting to put on a facade of watching his brother whereas he was, instead, completely zoned out. A tried and true method if you asked him, not that anyone would.

He fumbled absently at a lazily and very terribly stitched pocket hidden on the inside of his hoodie, confirming the presence of Harpie’s Brother’s card. It wasn’t his fault that he’d never been taught how to properly sew- maybe he should get around to it. Might lessen his paranoia, especially after that one incident where said card fell out of the pocket while he was running messages and he nearly broke out into a full-on panic attack. Fun times. 

He was snapped out of his zone as a shiver wracked down his spine. At first he was sure there was someone next to him, though it turned out not to be the case considering when he turned his head there was nothing there. He felt his lips open in a silent question before he closed them, shook his head and went and tried to actively zone out. 

“You’re pretty sharp, aren’t’cha?” 

Yasuharu shrieked and all but bolted from his seat, slapping a hand to his ear and whipping around to reveal a ruffled young man standing behind where he’d previously been sitting on the bench. 

He narrowed his eyes. “And you’re pretty creepy, sneaking up on kids in a park.”

Another shiver found its way down his spine but he kept a steady look on the stranger who remained silent for a few moments, glancing at the air between them and shaking his head before turning back to him and shrugging. 

“Can’t really say you’re wrong there, kid.”

Wow, creepy _and_ weird, his day was going great. 

The man made his way around to the front of the bench, picking a few stray leaves out of his hair that came from who-knows-where really considering it wasn’t fall and there weren’t many bushes nearby. Yasuharu stayed standing, watching warily as the stranger in the filthy brown jacket took a seat. 

“So, you interested in Duel Monsters?” He asked, seemingly still up for trying to make a conversation with someone who must’ve been at least ten years his junior. 

“Not really?” Yasuharu answered foolishly. If something bad happened to him it really was all his fault at that point, wasn’t it? 

“I thought all kids were into Duel Monsters! They were all the rage when I was a kid.”

“Which was how long ago?” 

“Feels like forever, maybe not as long ago as we’re both thinking though.” 

“... Right. Why are you talking to me again?” 

The man leaned back against the back of the bench and hummed, really seeming to think his answer through though Yasuharu was sure he looked like nothing ever went on in that head of his. 

“Kindred spirits attract? I’ll admit, I noticed your friend and thought I’d check out what’s happening.” 

Hah! Good try strange man, he didn’t have any friends. His chance of having friends was about as close as his chance of being a functioning member society. 

“I don’t have any though?” 

“Sure you do, he’s right next to you.”

Wow, that wasn’t ominous and totally not something a kidnapper would say before trapping him in a burlap sack or whatever kidnappers did nowadays. 

Either way, he turned to glance both left and right only to find empty space; of course, what had he expected? 

“You’re full of shi-”

“Woah, woah, woah! No swearing! You’re, like, seven.”

“I’m ten.”

“Alright, still my point stands. No swearing, you’re too young for that.” The man looked genuinely scandalised and he couldn’t help but let out a bit of a smile at that which immediately annoyed him. 

“Right, either way, you still haven’t answered why you’re talking to me. I’ll get the police if you don’t give me a good reason.”

“Maybe don’t do that?” He seemed genuinely flustered, his grin a bit nervous. What, was he actually a criminal? Yasuharu had been joking earlier for the most part but you never know, appearances can be deceiving. “I’m telling the truth though, I saw your pal Harpie’s Brother hanging out with you and since you didn’t look all that happy I thought ‘hey, let’s see what’s up with that guy!’” 

“Y- Wh-” he stuttered, staring at the stranger in complete disbelief, “you can see him? But he’s not materialised?” 

For some reason, that gave the man pause. “You can materialise Duel Spirits?” 

Hesitantly, he nodded. “W-well, I’ve only really tried it with Harpie’s Brother but I guess? Yeah?” 

In an instant the other’s face lit up. “That’s so cool! You know, I’ve met a lot of people but I’ve never met another person who could materialise Duel Spirits! That’s awesome!” 

“Um…” To be completely honest, he wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that before the full extent of the statement sank in and his eyes widened. “Wait, you can materialise them too?” 

“Sure can! Want me to show you?” 

“Y-” He cut himself off from an enthusiastic shout as he realised they were still at the rather busy park in the middle of the afternoon. “Ah, are you sure? What if someone sees?” 

The man frowned for a few seconds, looking like he was listening to something before he tuned back into their conversation. 

“Sure, I’m sure people are too busy with their own thing to notice what we’re doing over here anyway.”

Besides, Yasuharu tried to further rationalise to himself, he’d purposefully chosen the bench the most out of the way of everyone. People barely spared him so much as a glance every other time he sat there, why would it be much different now? With a deep breath, he nodded, resolute, and watched as the man in front of him pulled a Duel Monster deck from his belt, sorting through before he pulled out a card. Without saying a word, his eyes blurred momentarily before clearing to see the fully realised form of a Winged Kuriboh. 

His mouth gaped open like a fish, opening and closing uselessly as he grasped for the words, his eyes starting to blur once more though he couldn’t fathom why before he felt its fur brush against his cheek. He blinked and brought his eyes back to the man who was in a state of panic, arms uselessly waving, clearly not wanting to touch the younger boy without his say-so. 

“Wh- Are you alright?” He asked, voice hurried and filled with concern, though for what Yasuharu wasn’t quite sure. 

“Y-” Yasuharu halted as he realised his throat was raw and suddenly it clicked. “Ah. Yeah, I’m just… Sorry. Sorry.” He wiped at his eyes with his sleeves but now that he was aware of them he could only feel them continue. 

“God, this is stupid, I don’t even- I shouldn’t even be crying right now.”

The man seemed to search for the right words before settling on something simple. “Why not?” 

“Because nothing’s happened!” Yasuharu tried to express frustratedly all while the man and Winged Kuriboh gently guided him to the empty space on the bench where he’d sat before the man’s arrival. “You just summoned him and then I just-”

“Hold on, I think I’ve got- here,” the man handed him some tissues he’d managed to get out of his bag. “Take a moment. No one’s going anywhere.”

Taking his advice, Yasuharu just sat and scrubbed away his tears, wiped away his snot and stroked his hands through Winged Kuriboh’s fur until he was sure he’d committed it to memory. Unrealistically soft yet somehow wiry at the same time, like it had been combed multiple times over and then some until it was just perfect. He made sure to stay away from the creature’s folded wings, so pure white and delicate as they appeared, though he was also sure that just by nature the spirit wouldn’t mind him touching them. He couldn’t be sure he wasn’t dreaming but he dearly hoped he wasn’t. 

“Sorry,” he repeated again once he’d regained his ability to speak, still hoarse from all of the crying. 

“Don’t be; sometimes all you need is a good cry.”

“I just…”

“Never met someone like yourself before?” The man guessed, earning himself a nod which in turn received a laugh as he shifted a hand through his hair. “I still haven’t. Didn’t even come close ‘til I was much older than you are now. That’s part of the reason I’m here. Not here specifically, but places, y’know?”

“To find people similar to you?” 

The man nodded. 

“Why go through the trouble?” He knew he wouldn’t. 

“I went through a lot of things, you know. Did a lot of soul searching in a lot of different ways and I kind of realised ‘hey, I really like helping people’. I was alone a lot as a kid, partially because of my special capabilities, so I thought there must be a lot of others just like me who maybe need some help- know they aren’t alone, yeah?” 

“Yeah…” Yasuharu echoed quietly. “Thanks.”

“Huh?” 

“Thanks,” he repeated, a shy smile blooming onto his face. “For telling me. For letting me know. I think that’s what I needed to hear.” 

“Then I’m glad I could help.” 

As soon as he said it, Winged Kuriboh slipped from Yasuharu’s grip and disappeared entirely. 

“Sorry, it’s getting late. If I don’t start searching now then I might not be able to find a place to stay the night, y’know?” 

Looking at the sky, he noticed that the sun had gone down considerably since he initially sat down. It was probably time he dragged his brother home anyway. 

“That’s fine.” He’d already done more than enough in Yasuharu’s eyes. “Before you go, could I ask one more thing?” 

“You just did, but another one wouldn’t hurt.” 

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at that but he wasn’t deterred. “What’s your name? In case I ever run into you again or whatever.”

“Ah, we never did introduce ourselves, did we? Just call me Judai.” 

“Yasuharu.” He extended a hand which was gratefully taken and shook. “Good luck finding a place.”

Judai grinned at him. “Good luck to you too in whatever you’ve got planned.”

It was odd, seeing Judai walk away as casually and suddenly as he’d appeared, Yasuharu couldn’t help but think, yet oddly fitting. 

“Ayato!” He turned and called, shaking his head. He had other things to think about now. “Time to go!” 

“Who was that?” Ayato asked him on the way home. 

“Hm?” 

“The man with the bag who was sitting next to you. He made you cry- was he being mean?” 

“No, he was being very nice.” Maybe more than he deserved, but if he had to put a label there, even if somewhat artificial, even if they may never meet again. “He’s something of a friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i thought i was long gone how's the global health crisis going? starting to ease up where i am, though for those that aren't so lucky remember to stay safe and indoors. those who're like me? same stuff, just cause it's easing up doesn't mean you can start slacking! 
> 
> note before someone brings it up: i know that the card isn't called Harpie's Brother now (i think it's Sky Scout?) but i picked cards based on the cards i own which don't go past 5Ds (and i only have maybe ten of that era) and i figured it was fine to keep it as Harpie's Brother since this all takes place GX-Era anyway
> 
> this was originally going to be a one-shot but i split it into parts so there should be more coming when the motivation finds me (sooner rather than later, i'd hope)! weirdly enough, the hardest thing about this was writing the beginning in the forum because i had no idea how to format it. i don't use forums and i don't know anyone that does so i hope what we're left with is fine with everyone. i really enjoyed writing this part and hopefully the rest to follow will be the same! lots of ocs here, sorry to anyone who doesn't like that sort of thing- they're not my cup of tea most of the time either but y'know. gotta do what ya gotta do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sightings of the Spirit Speaker**

**> last post: today**

**Anonymous:** you expect us to believe this?

**_xxBlaze1xx:_ ** I don’t expect you to do anything. Do what you want. 

**_Anonymous:_ ** sounds like you were pretty lonely at the time, maybe you hallucinated friends lmao

**_xxBlaze1xx:_ ** Maybe, maybe not. It was a while ago now, as I said. 

**_CartonHome:_ ** dunno, sounds pretty similar to the guy i met 

**_Anonymous:_ ** you can only take a joke so far

**_Anonymous:_ ** Exactly what makes you think these spirits are real in the first place?

**_Anonymous:_ ** i mean… they have been around as a superstition of the game for a long while now 

**_Anonymous:_ ** they raise a fair point, lots of people believe in them

**_Anonymous:_ ** more importantly, lots of  _ influential  _ people believe in them 

**_Anonymous:_ ** yeah? name one credible influential person. and don’t try and throw kaiba at me i swear to fucking god i trust that guy as far as i can throw him and i only have one arm

**_Anonymous:_ ** yugi mutou believes in spirits. or at least i think he does. he’s mentioned them a handful of times in some interviews.

**_Anonymous:_ ** … 

**_Anonymous:_ ** alright you got me there

**_CartonHome:_ ** oh fuck someone admitting they were wrong on the internet? Must’ve died 

**_Anonymous:_ ** not admitting i was wrong but relenting that there’s no way for either way to prove either side and that i’ll at least leave this as a draw

**_xxBlaze1xx_ ** : Where did you go for like… the entirety of that argument? 

**_CartonHome:_ ** unlike some people i have a social life outside of my spirits, not like you were exactly present 

**_xxBlaze1xx:_ ** Arguing is a waste of time. Also, I bet one of your spirits dragged you away because you were getting too hot-headed. 

**_CartonHome:_ ** shut it hermit 

**_xxBlaze1xx:_ ** Insults, classy. 

**_CartonHome:_ ** sarcasm isn’t a good look 

**_xxBlaze1xx:_ ** Good thing it isn’t a look but a tone then, isn’t it? I would hate to look bad on the  _ internet.  _

**_AzureSystem:_ ** this isn’t what i was expecting to see when i entered this forum

**_CartonHome:_ ** oops

**_AzureSystem:_ ** no keep going it was fun! 

**_xxBlaze1xx:_ ** Fun? We were just arguing. 

**_AzureSystem:_ ** yeah but you seemed like you were having a lot of fun. 

**_xxBlaze1xx:_ ** ‘Fun’ isn’t the word I’d use for it. 

**_CartonHome:_ ** aww, you weren’t having fun?? 

**_xxBlaze1xx:_ ** No? 

**_CartonHome:_ ** damn that sucks... 

**_CartonHome:_ ** you’re so hard to please

**_xxBlaze1xx:_ ** Alright, well, I have no idea what you’re talking about but sure. 

**_AzureSystem:_ ** can i ask something Carton? 

**_CartonHome:_ ** sure, go for it 

**_AzureSystem:_ ** you don’t happen to work on a dairy farm, do you?

**_CartonHome:_ ** uh. no.

**_AzureSystem:_ ** ahh guess that’s just my hopeful thinking, sorry then

**_CartonHome:_ ** why? is it the user?

**_AzureSystem:_ ** well, yeah

**_AzureSystem:_ ** you’d be surprised how few farmers play Duel Monsters so i was curious

**_CartonHome:_ ** huh. i’d have never thought

**_CartonHome:_ ** unfortunately, my name just comes from a stupid in-joke from primary 

**_CartonHome:_ ** if you’re asking, does that mean you’re a farmer too? 

**_AzureSystem:_ ** got it in one!

**_AzureSystem:_ ** i saw this sub-forum while scrolling through the main and was a bit curious. he probably looked a bit different since it was winter when we met but i’m pretty sure i met your mystery man

**_xxBlaze1xx:_ ** Calling him our mystery man is a bit… 

**_CartonHome:_ ** well he’s not a mystery man since we know his name and thus who he is but interesting interesting 

**_CartonHome:_ ** do spin your tale of wonder 

**_AzureSystem:_ ** aw, well, since you asked so nicely...

* * *

“Move to Japan, she said, it’ll be fun! She said. We’ll be with your father. She. Said,” a young woman muttered to herself as she found herself making her way towards a tractor just outside a shed, connected to a rickety wooden trailer that had certainly seen better days. 

“Well yeah, I know she didn’t  _ say  _ that but that’s what she meant! Why else would we move to the other side of the world? Just cause she had to fall in love with some tourist.” There was a pause. “Okay, listen, I know I’m overreacting but how am I supposed to get anything worthwhile done here when my Japanese is subpar at  _ best  _ and the locals keep eyeing me like I’m about to start spontaneously dancing?” 

She sighed, glancing inside the trailer and then glancing around before spotting the fence posts and muttering under her breath before loading them into the trailer one by one, followed by two coils of wire mesh. 

Reaching up, she tightened her ponytail before sighing and starting up the tractor dejectedly, glancing to her side where a very clearly non-human being floated off the floor. If she didn’t know any better, perhaps she’d have thought that there were suddenly two suns in the sky. Or she was going crazy; one or the other. 

“I think I would’ve been long gone if you weren’t here, Helios,” she said, tapping the handle on the steering wheel as she maneuvered her way out of the close and down the cow’s road. “Familiar sun and all.”

Helios batted at her head, seeming well aware that it would just go straight through. Even so, the young woman shivered as an unnerving heat wracked up her spine. 

“Don’t do that, I’m driving,” she reprimanded but the spirit only responded in what seemed to be nothing more than a hum both audibly and in meaning. 

“Better not be forgetting anything, I don’t know if I can be bothered driving back. Or running back.” It wasn’t a particularly long journey between the fields and she wasn’t that against running- hell, the only reason they used tractors was because it was much more efficient nowadays to use them than not, even if they were old. It was more the principle of it. The principle of the fact that she was the only worker on the farm aside from her parents and that one kid they’d hired by virtue of recommendation alone and not merit. Yes, she was bitter, no she was not ashamed to admit it. 

The kid himself wasn’t bad even if he got on her nerves sometimes- he was a highschooler though, of course he was going to do stupid stuff. He was motivated and liked to try new things, always willing to follow instructions even if he asked too many questions in the process of carrying them out- he just had one glaring issue. Very glaring if you asked her. It was that his scheduling was abysmal. 

See, this was relevant this particular afternoon if only for the fact that, apparently, he was going on holiday with his family for a week! A whole week! And only thought to tell her the day he was leaving. Her! His assigned supervisor! He was supposed to help her with fencing today which was very much a two-man job even now that machines existed and with her mum and Masao, her partner, busy elsewhere on the farm it rested upon her to do it all by herself.

“‘You can do it alone, Leah’,” she mocked, waving her free hand around as though trying to mimic something, though it wasn’t quite clear what. “‘You’ve plenty of experience’. Yeah, ‘cause experience with two people means I can definitely do it by myself.”

Just in her peripheral vision she could see Helios facing her, arms crossed and very clearly unimpressed. 

“Don’t give me that look I- holy shit there’s a dead body.”

Helios turned to where she had been looking and, sure enough, there was a body. She scrambled out of the tractor, Helios already way ahead of her and floating his way through the windscreen and bending over the body as if waiting for something to happen. 

“Do you have any water?” A voice asked as she neared, causing her to promptly scream and stumble backwards before she glanced around for the source of the voice, eyes eventually landing on a very clearly non-human form, though nothing like Helios either. Draconic this time.

“You can’t just  _ do  _ that to people,” she half-yelled, still catching her breath from the sudden adrenaline rush. 

“Well, what else was I supposed to do? I didn’t know whether you’d be able to see me or not, best to cut straight to the chase. Speaking of. Your answer?” 

“Huh?” Leah asked dumbly. 

“Water. I asked if you have any water.” Leah opened her mouth but the spirit rolled her eyes before she could speak. “Not for me, for this idiot.” And they pointed at the groaning mess of a body on the road. 

“Ah, he’s not dead,” Leah couldn’t help but say before her brain kicked in again. “Yeah I’ve got a bottle, hold on.”

Without a second thought, she took a few more steps towards the boy, bent over and hefted him up into a bridal carry, taking him around the back of the tractor and over to the trailer, propping him up against the side. She spared a glance at the spirit accompanying him and was rather amused herself to find their expression go from almost downright murderous at first to amused. Ah. Had she just provided blackmail material? Well, his fault for passing out in front of her tractor. 

She let herself chuckle slightly before she went to grab the requested water bottle from the inside of the tractor. 

“What’s so funny?” The spirit asked. 

“Nothing, just thinking that you two must have a rather good relationship.”

The spirit’s face flushed slightly, though they tried to ignore it. “Oh really?” 

“Yeah, I’m glad I could provide some blackmail- anyway.” She coughed into her fist, poking the young man’s arm, earning a groan each time. “Wake up, the world is ending.”

“Again?” Came his tired, kind of annoyed response. 

She hadn’t a clue what kind of reply that was but hey, she could roll with it. “Yeah, sorry. Only way to save it is to drink some water.” She forced the bottle into one of his hands. “Drink up.”

He gripped the bottle but didn’t seem inclined to drink it. While amusing, Leah was rather aware of the fact that she  _ was  _ technically working and was wasting time. 

“If you don’t wake up I’ll tell her all about the Sanwitch Incident,” the spirit eventually said, voice sweet yet sinister, apparently sick of waiting. 

An eye cracked open. “You don’t mean…”

“I do mean. You know I would.”

He groaned. “Fuck… Fine, okay then.” And promptly chugged half of what was left in the bottle before choking. 

If someone asked her how she would spend her afternoon, she wouldn’t say patting the back of a stranger she picked up off the road as he almost killed himself. Helios made a groaning sound and she turned to listen before nodding sagely. 

“He’s right; take it slowly.”

“Would’ve been good advice for me before I started chugging it,” the stranger commented. It clearly wasn’t meant to be unkind and she was honestly unsure if he was even aware he said it at all. 

“Sorry for thinking you had a brain in there.”

“Common misunderstanding,” the spirit said with a shake of their head. 

She sighed. To be honest, she’d much rather sit and talk with such interesting individuals- she didn’t know if she’d ever so openly met another who could see Duel Monster Spirits- but she had pressing matters. 

“Hey, listen, I’d love to sit and chat- really, I would- but you caught me en-route to work. Or a part of it anyway. You’re always welcome to join me though, I can drive you into town once I’m done.”

“You’d do that?” He asked. 

“Sure,” she shrugged. “I’ve been starved for company since coming here.”

“Oh?” 

“Very hard to converse with Japanese people when you can barely understand the local accent. Yours is more similar to the one they teach in school.” 

“Really? Learn something new every day.”

“Sure do. You can sit back there if you want, the field isn’t that far from here.”

The man nodded before a look of realisation came across his face. 

“Almost forgot- the name’s Judai.” He stuck out a hand, accompanying it with a bright grin. 

She didn’t quite match it, but she did smile at least as she firmly shook the offered hand. “Leah. Nice to meet you.”

As she’d previously said, the field wasn’t far away from where he’d collapsed and subsequently been found so it only took them five minutes, give or take, to get to their destination. All the while, she noticed that she’d been promptly abandoned by Helios in the tractor in favour of their newfound acquaintance. Some part of her wanted to feel annoyed by it but those feelings soon melted away just by glancing in the rear-view mirror and seeing him animatedly converse with Judai and his accompanying spirit. 

“We’re here,” she announced as the tractor stopped, as if she needed to. 

The field itself was. Well, it was a field. There wasn’t much you could say about it. There was already a tractor in the field with a post chapper attached to the back of it and some marks sprayed onto the grass with what seemed to be white spray paint, almost all signs of a previous fence being absent. 

“You guys having fun back there?” She asked as she climbed out, heading around to the trailer to collect the posts. 

“Yeah,” Judai grinned, “Helios was telling me and Yubel all about you.”

Yubel. She glanced at the draconic spirit. Right, she’d have to remember that. 

“Oh yeah? Finding out about how amazing and great I am?” 

He laughed. “Something like that.”

“He talked about how much you complain, mostly,” Yubel supplied. 

Leah frowned at Helios. “Way to give them a good impression of me. Now shift, I need that stuff behind you. You may be a spirit but I can’t see through you.”

Helios obliged, shuffling to the side to reveal some of the earlier packed fence posts which were subsequently dragged out and towards the front though only taking one all the way out of the trailer. 

“Hey, actually. As payment for driving you to town, help me lay these posts out.”

“‘Lay’? But aren’t you hammering them into the ground?” 

“Yeah but it’s easier to lay them out first and then hammer them all down. It’s a process. I don’t know, it’s just how I’ve always been taught to do it.”

Judai shrugged. “Hey you’re the expert, I’m not going to question you.”

“Isn’t that what you just did?” Yubel asked him teasingly, a smirk plastered on their face. Judai pouted but otherwise promptly ignored them. 

“Chop chop, let’s get to it.”

And so, they did. First, Leah demonstrated exactly how she wanted- the pointed end that would be driven into the ground was to lie on top of the white mark while the body was to lie forward and away from the other marks. Simple stuff, really. A simple job that would go quickly even by yourself, especially when it was a small fence they were fixing up like this one with only eight posts. 

“Finished!” Judai called, now at the opposite side of the field from Leah, seeing as they’d both worked their way inside out. 

“Alright, now’s the fun part! We get to use the post chapper.”

“The what?” 

“That.” She pointed towards the tractor that she’d driven to the field earlier with a machine attached to it at the back. 

“What’s it do?” 

“See that huge weight at the back? That’ll be our hammer. Two strikes and that should be a post done.”

“Amazing.”

“Isn’t it just? I do need to drive it over each post though so that’s pretty tedious.”

Judai nodded in understanding though it was clear he was more fascinated with the fact that it was a big hammer. Well, she couldn’t say she didn’t understand, when they got their first post chapper she’d been pretty amazed too. 

After lining it up, she headed back out once more and round to the controls. 

“Here, I’ll tell you how to work it.”

“Really?” He certainly sounded excited and she’d be lying if she said that didn’t bring a smile to her face. 

“Sure.”

“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Yubel said with a frown, looking the machine up and down skeptically. 

“He won’t get hurt, it’s just loud,” she tried to assure them but the frown remained in place. 

“Look, there’s quite a few levers,” she turned her attention to Judai instead. She wasn’t going to try and convince them. “But we only need to focus on three. This one will move this part up and down,” she pointed at the metal between the hammer and the post, “and will make sure our post is properly secure. This one will drop the block and this one will bring it back up. They’re pretty responsive so don’t pull them too much. I’ll do the first one, alright? Hold the post until it’s clamped.” 

Judai nodded excitedly and held it still. As she’d said, she brought the post chapper down with one of the levers, clamping the post, and she gestured for Judai to step to the side. With a slight clatter of chains, she brought the hammer up and looked at Judai with a grin.

“Ready?” 

“Ready!” 

With just a slight touch she brought the hammer down and it resounded with a loud thud and following clatter of chains. She looked at Judai with a satisfied grin on her face only to see his eyes widened and, for a moment, she was sure they were a different colour from the warm brown they were before. Instantly, her smile fell. 

“Are… Are you alright?”

It seemed that her words snapped him out of his daze as he shook his head and looked at her and she could clearly see his eyes were the brown they always had been. 

“Yeah, I just never expected it to be that loud. You did warn me!” Although he tried to play it off, it wasn’t hard to tell that he was just acting- especially if Yubel’s concerned look had anything to do with it. 

“Listen, don’t worry about it. I’m not gonna pry but you can just sit in the trailer ‘til I’ve finished this if you want. I don’t want to trigger some PTSD you’ve got or whatever.”

“Wha- I don’t have PTSD.”

Leah raised her hands. “Alright, well, I don’t want you freaking out on me anywho.”

It was then that Helios joined the conversation again and she smacked the palm of her hand against her forehead. 

“Oh yeah, I should have some earmuffs in the trailer since a lot of people wear them while using it. Safety precautions. You can wear those.”

“I’ll be fine, it was just unexpected.”

“You sure?” 

Judai nodded resolutely but she couldn’t say she was convinced and looked to Yubel for guidance. They seemed to know him pretty well. 

“While I’m all for taking things safe, you won’t stop him once he gets his mind set on something,” they said with a sigh, shaking their head, “too stubborn for his own good.”

“Love you too,” Judai added though he didn’t get a proper response, only an affectionate eye roll. Wow, Leah was going to barf if she let them stay on this topic for much longer, wasn’t she?

“Okay, well, they’re there. Do you want to try the next one or what?” 

“Hell yeah!” 

The same issue never really seemed to occur again and since Judai didn’t seem keen on bringing it back up and nor was she really a friend she guessed it really was something best left alone. Yubel would say something to him when they were alone if it really was an issue, she was sure. 

With the two of them doing the two-man job, not to mention the fact that work felt like it sped up greatly just by Judai’s incredible enthusiasm to hammer the stumps into the ground, they got the posts into the ground in record time and Judai’s brief panic was nothing but an afterthought. 

“Great, now we just need to put the actual fencing up.”

“Like, barbed wire?” 

Leah looked scandalised. “I’m not a monster! Over on our farm we care about our cattle so it’s only the finest of wire mesh!” 

“Sorry? I think.”

She hummed and looked out from where they were standing at the last fence post.

“Do you think we could get all this with one coil?” She asked Helios who made a small sound before she spoke again. “Yeah we totally can.”

“What?” Judai asked dumbly, wondering if he was missing something. 

“We need to roll out the mesh, sit it up and then nail it to the posts. Shouldn’t take too long- ever used a hammer before, champ?” 

“Champ? My name’s Judai.”

“Not anymore, champ.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

Helios made another sound and Leah looked at him triumphantly. 

“That’s two against one, answer the question.”

“Uh, no?” 

“Well today’s your lucky day. I’ll show you how and if you show promise, we might get done even earlier than expected.”

Judai cheered but it was almost covered by the accompanying groan by Yubel. 

“Judai, I love you, but know that this can only go terribly.”

Judai waved a hand. “You have such little faith in my abilities, I’ll do great.”

He did not, in fact, do great. In fact, Leah was inclined to say that, by the end of it, they’d taken longer than it would have taken for her to do it alone which was… not great, per say. 

“I’m sorry,” Judai ended up saying, after a scolding and an ‘I told you so’ from Yubel, “I ended up wasting a lot of your time; I just couldn’t hit those nails straight no matter how hard I tried.”

“I’m still wondering how you have fingers, personally. Don’t worry about it. Just ‘cause it would’ve saved time doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate you being here. It’s nice having someone to talk to other than Helios. Makes me feel less like I’m going crazy.”

“No problem! I like talking to new people, it’s all part of the… job? Lifestyle? Something of a mix between those two.”

“What _is_ your job? Is it connected to why you were dying on a backroad of a nowhere town like this?”

“Guess you could say that- I’m a traveller, mainly Doesn’t pay much of anything, though.” Leah perked up. You didn’t hear much of travellers these days, they always seemed so far away. Something you could only hear of in fantasies. Guess not. “But I’m trying to go to places where there are others who can see Duel Spirits.”

“Like me?” 

He nodded. “Of course, there’s never a guarantee that I’ll find anyone. Sometimes I do and they don’t want to talk though, and that’s fine too.”

“Huh, guess it’s quite the coincidence that I’m the one who found you then.”

“Yup! Do you play or do you just have Helios?” 

Leah paused for a moment in thought. “I used to play but I don’t anymore. Not for a year or so now.”

“What made you stop?” 

“Moving here. At first I thought it might help me make new friends but then I realised all my cards are in English and I was worried they’d think I’d try and cheat somehow. It’s stupid, I know, but… when the anxiety hits, y’know?” 

It really did seem like he understood, too. 

“Sometimes you gotta push through with things though,” he said. “Even though you’re terrified and you know you could turn back and just live as you did, sometimes pushing past that terror is what’s best for you. Best to regret what you did than what you didn’t.”

“Wise words for a man who can’t hit a nail straight.”

“What can I say, I’ve been practicing on my speech skills the past few years.”

“Well, I don’t know what they were like before but you’re doing pretty alright, I’d say. Hop in the trailer, it’s about time we head back.” It really was, time was just flying by and, while it wouldn’t be dark by virtue of it being summer, Leah really didn’t want to miss dinner which was no doubt already on the go. 

“You know, the only thing that can really fix your bad hammer-work skills is practice,” she began, leaning out the back window of the tractor.

“Really?” He seemed interested enough. 

“I know just the place- it would even give you board and a bit of pay, if you stay on your toes.”

Judai smiled. “Well, how can I say no when I have an empty wallet?” 

Guess she just scored a worker for the week. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, things have... gotten somewhere since I last updated. Hope people are keeping safe, protest protocol in order and all that. So much stuff going on it's actually incredible in a rather morbid way. I know I said it a sentence ago but really, stay safe. And remember, fuck the police.
> 
> This chapter ended up a bit longer than I thought it would be but I guess I got too carried away explaining... fencing? Of all things? And that's me saying that having cut out a huge chunk of the fencing process already! I hope you had fun. For reference, in the last chapter the main oc, Yasuharu, was ten (at the time of the story, not forums), while here the main oc, Leah, I imagine as closer to Judai's age which, for the sake of my sanity, I will not be trying to think about.

**Author's Note:**

> The title isn't based on a song title or lyrics for once though i did get inspired by the song '[Ice Cream Syndrome](https://youtu.be/UsVN0sha9BQ)' by Sukima Switch. very good listen if you haven't done so already. fun fact: this was originally called 'the spirit club' and was about a bunch of people who created a club of people from the forum sharing their stories about judai instead of complete strangers doing it openly on the forum. i think that's all i've got to say for one night so i hope you enjoyed if you made it this far! 
> 
> Find me on Tumblr at [future-circuit!](http://future-circuit.tumblr.com/)


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